


Before & After

by justanoutlaw



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, During Canon, F/M, Family, Family Feels, Fluff, Infertility, Miscarriage, One Shot Collection, Parent Cinderella | Jacinda Vidrio, Parent Henry Mills (Once Upon a Time), Post-Canon, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2018-09-19
Packaged: 2019-07-03 09:53:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 10,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15816513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justanoutlaw/pseuds/justanoutlaw
Summary: What took place before the curse and what came after.





	1. Ice Skating

**Author's Note:**

> trueloveismagic prompted: It’s winter in the United Realms. Lucy is ice-skating on the frozen lake by the Mills cottage. The ice begins to crack under her feet. You know what they say? History repeats…….
> 
> Though, I twisted it a bit and this takes place before the Drizella's curse was set and Lucy is 6. I've also decided to make this a one shot series, of Henry, Jacinda and Lucy's lives before the curse and after. So, feel free to prompt things for this family.

Lucy knew of the modern world, of course she did. Her father and grandmother told her stories of the realm he had grown up in, where things worked a lot different. Their family would come visit, but she had never been there herself. Ella was afraid of the other realm and what it could bring, so they stuck to having Emma, Snow, David and the rest coming to them. Still, Lucy was fascinated by the different things that her grandmother and great-grandparents would bring her. Emma would always charm different electronics so they didn’t have to be charged and Snow would bring her fashion that couldn’t be found in the villages.

 

One particular visit, Snow and David had gifted Lucy with a pair of ice skates. Neal was learning how to skate himself and they figured that she would like to as well. They had specified, however, that she had to wait to be with Regina or Zelena before using them. Lucy didn’t understand why, but she abided by the rules. Little did she realize, her grandmother and great-aunt would charm the frozen lake when she skated so she didn’t fall through. Ella of all people knew how fragile lakes could be.

 

A few weeks later, more snow had fallen and the lakes were frozen. Henry was busy writing while Ella had a visit with Tiana. Once upon a time, Henry had dreamed of living in a big castle with all his family. However, he had grown up and found he loved the smaller things. They had built the cottage themselves, with some help from Hook, Regina and Jack. It had been finished shortly after Lucy’s birth and was the perfect size for them, plus more children when they expanded their family.

 

Lucy loved when her aunt visited, but as a six year old, she quickly grew bored with the conversation. She went over to her father, who was sitting at his desk. He now wrote for the village’s paper and had an article due in a few days’ time.

 

“Daddy, can you play with me?”

Henry looked up, rubbing his chin. He had been letting his facial hair grow out a bit, but knew he should probably shave. “I’m sorry, angel, I really have to get this article done. I’ll take a break soon, I promise.” He looked out the window. “Why don’t you go play outside? You could build a snowman.”

 

Lucy frowned, but went into her room to bundle up to go outside. She loved where they lived, but since her parents had set up in the middle of the woods, she didn’t have any kids around her age to play. She had been begging for a baby sibling for a long time, but her parents explained that it was complicated. Grownups always said that things were complicated, it was so annoying.

 

After putting on her coat and boots, she noticed her skates in the corner. Her grandma and great-aunt weren’t due for a visit, but maybe she could still have a little fun on the lake anyway.

 

Telling her mom where she was going, Lucy headed outside. She played in the snow for a bit, building a snowman and making snow angels. Eventually, she decided it was time to practice her skating. When Snow had brought Lucy her skates, she had also gotten pairs for Ella and Henry too, so they’d all have family skates whenever Regina came by after it snowed. She was a natural, much like her father.

 

Going out onto the ice, she held onto the tree to start, slowly inching her way forward. Soon, she was skating with ease. She grinned as she spun around, feeling the cool winter air on her cheeks. Her hair and coat were wet from the snow, but in that moment she didn’t care. She was having way too much fun.

 

Halfway through her time on the ice, Lucy decided to do a jump she had seen in one of her books. She landed on the ice perfectly, though she started to hear some cracking. Looking down, she could see the ice moving. Before she could do anything, she was falling into the lake. All she could manage, was to scream as she was submerged into the icy water.

* * *

 

Henry heard the scream and hopped out of his seat, running out the door. Tiana and Ella were right on his tail. He scanned the property and didn’t see his daughter at first, until his eyes settled on the pink knit hat floating in the hole that was in the lake. Ella must have saw it too, because she instantly started running for the water.

 

“No,” she whispered. “This is not happening again!”

 

He didn’t even have to ask what she meant. He had heard about her childhood, how both she and her sister, Ana, had fallen into the lake. Marcus had saved Ella, but couldn’t do the same for Ana. It was what lead Ella’s step-mother into darkness.

 

Without a word, Henry started running on the ice. He knew it was dangerous and that he could end up in the same situation as his daughter, but he had no other choice. Skidding and sliding, he finally made it to where the hole was. Reaching in, he grabbed hold of his daughter’s hand and pulled her out.  Lifting her into his arms, he carefully carried her back to the lake’s edge where Ella and Tiana stood, looking terrified.

 

Lucy lay unconscious in his arms, soaking wet. He quickly carried her into the house and laid her down on the ground. He removed her jacket and felt for a pulse, quickly finding it, though it was clear she wasn’t breathing.

 

“She’s got a pulse,” he told his wife and friend, the former having tears streaming down her cheeks. “Tiana, add more logs to the fire. Ella, get her some warm, fresh clothes to change into.”

 

His heart was racing as he followed the memories he had of taking a CPR class shortly after Neal was born so he could babysit. He began to perform the chest compressions, before opening the airway in her nose and giving her the needed rescue breaths. It didn’t work the first time, so he did it again, no response. The third time, however and she began to cough out water. By that time, Ella had returned in the room and her knees buckled, a sob escaping her lips.

 

Henry let himself breathe for the first time since it happened, kissing his daughter’s forehead. “Hey there, Luce,” he whispered. “You gave us all quite the scare.”

“Daddy,” she whined.

“I know, you must be feeling awful. Don’t worry, Mommy’s got a change of clothes for you. You’re going to be okay.”

 

He stepped back to let Ella change her and then he carried her off to bed, tucking her in nice and tight. They didn’t want to overheat her, but gave her a few extra blankets. Tiana went to go get the village doctor to check on her, just in case. It wasn’t long, before Lucy had drifted off to sleep again, this time breathing as she did.

 

Ella sat at the foot of Lucy’s bed with Henry behind her, rubbing her back. “We could’ve lost her,” she whispered.

“We didn’t, though.”

“I…I don’t know what I would’ve done.”

“She’s here, El. She’s safe.” He bit down on his lip. “This is all my fault.”

Ella looked up at him. “Don’t say that.”

“But it’s true. If I had just taken a break and gone out to play with her, she never would’ve been on the lake.”

“We both let her go outside alone, just as we’ve done a hundred times before. It’s not our fault that this happened. Lucy knew better than to go on the lake and she did it anyway, sometimes kids don’t listen.” She tilted her head. “I happen to know that you didn’t always listen to your mother and ended up in danger.”

Henry had to hold back a smile at that. “True.”

“And was it her fault?”

“Of course not.”

“So, then this isn’t yours.” Ella gently kissed him.

 

Henry let out a sigh and wrapped his arms around his wife. Their little girl was safe, that was all that mattered.


	2. Small Bump

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: miscarriage and infertility.
> 
> I know some Glass Believer fans wondered why Henry & Ella only had one child. They would've obviously had more, right? The real answer is probably that they didn't want to have a bunch of kids running around on set, but my headcanon is a bit different...

Ella and Henry knew they wanted more than one child. Lucy came 11 months after their wedding day and they couldn’t have been more overjoyed. The next 2 years were spent in a haze of bliss, sleepless nights and dirty diapers. While the Enchanted Forest didn’t have much in the way of birth control, Henry did stock up on that when he would head to Storybrooke to visit his family, along with other supplies that made the women in their family’s time of the month a bit more bearable.

 

With the protection, they were able to plan their family out their way. Shortly after Lucy’s second birthday, they agreed it was time to add to their family.

 

It didn’t happen the first month or the second. By the fourth, they were starting to get concerned but everyone assured them it was fine. Ella’s cycle was off ever since having Lucy anyway and they were able to conceive her, so what was the problem?

 

All of their concerns went away by the sixth month of trying. Ella finally became pregnant and they were overjoyed. They waited to tell anyone at first, but once she was past the first trimester, they shared the happy news. Henry got Lucy’s old crib out of storage and they started to decorate one of the spare rooms as a nursery. Of course they didn’t know what they were having yet, but they went with a soft yellow. Lucy was too young to get it, but they told her she was soon to be a big sister.

 

Four months into the pregnancy, Ella felt some cramping in the middle of the night. She lit a candle and held it over the bed, finding blood on the sheets.

 

They called the village doctor just to be sure, but he confirmed what they already knew: she had lost the baby.

 

Ella wouldn’t leave bed for a week. Henry tried so hard to keep it together for her, taking care of Lucy and getting her whatever she needed. However, by the end of the week, he was breaking down too. They felt like zombies, walking around dead. Losing the baby hit them harder than they thought it ever could.

 

It was Regina that helped them find a way to move on. She encouraged them to talk about the loss, go to each other rather than fall apart. It was exactly what they did. They cried, they talk, they fought. In the end, they found healing and strength. When spring came, they planted a cherry tree in the baby’s memory. The pink blossoms that first came brought Jacinda peace every time she looked at it. The cherries that Henry used to make pies and other treats, made him relax in the kitchen.

 

They decided to try again around Lucy’s fourth birthday. This time, they got pregnant again without any difficulty. They were more cautious, they didn’t want to put too much hope into things.

 

As it would turn out, they were right to do so. This time, Ella didn’t even make it to the second trimester.

 

Henry and Ella wouldn’t call the second miscarriage any less traumatizing or sad, but they didn’t break down the way they once had. It was almost as if it was a sign. They had a beautiful daughter, who was thriving every day. They had each other.

 

“Things aren’t like where you’re from,” Ella pointed out one night as they laid in bed together. “We have a doctor, but the healthcare still isn’t stellar.”

“You’re more important to me than having another child,” Henry told her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. “I want you here with me.”

“So…maybe we stop trying.”

Henry nodded. “It’s for the sake of your health. Both physically and mentally.”

“Yours too.” She lightly kissed him. “I’m sorry, Henry.”

“Don’t be. I love you, so much. You gave me the most precious little girl, you gave me yourself. I don’t need more than that.”

 

So, that was how it was. They spent the next 4 years happily raising Lucy. They took her on vacations, they went on date nights themselves. They attended balls at Tiana’s castle and occasionally helped Zelena on her farm. They worked, they saw Regina.

 

Yes, they were perfectly content as a family of three.

 

And after the curse, when Ella would go onto have perfectly healthy twins, they became an unbelievably happy family of five.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to send me prompts for this verse.


	3. Sisters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @trueloveismagic said: With the realms merged, Ella, Drizella and Ana have a chance to be sisters again. But that’s easier said than done. Ella has not forgiven Drizella for everything she’s done and, frankly, worries for Ana’s safety. Ella considers fighting for custody of her youngest sister…

Ella grew up in a realm with magic, so she knew anything was possible. However, the one thing that she was always told was that dead is dead. People don’t come back from that, ever. She had tried after her father died, but there was no such luck.

 

However, when they all got back from the Enchanted Forest and decided to move to Storybrooke full time, she found out that her previously deceased sister was still alive.

 

Not only was Anastasia alive, she was living with Drizella.

 

She didn’t know what to do about it at first. When she found out that Regina had allowed Drizella to return to the Enchanted Forest during the curse, she was told that her step-sister had turned over a new leaf. She had been raising Anastasia on her own ever since they returned.

 

Once the realms were reunited, Ella went to see her sisters. Anastasia threw her arms around her right away and hugged her tight. Drizella had made sure to show her pictures and catch her up on all that was going on. She had time to adjust to what was going on.

 

Ella hadn’t.

 

She spent the afternoon bonding with her little sister, allowing her to show her around the neighborhood and where she went to school. It wasn’t quite what she had been used to growing up, but she seemed happy.

 

Drizella didn’t come out of their cottage, it was as if she knew better. She lingered from the window, though. Ella stared at her for a moment, trying to hear Regina’s words.

 

“She’s trying to change, El. I know it’s not easy for you to forgive her, I’m not sure I have completely either. Still, she’s trying to be a better person.”

 

It made Ella’s blood boil. She had spent years being treated as her family’s servant, more being chased by them and marked for death. Her husband had nearly been killed and then she was separated from him. For 2 years she had to share custody of her only child with a woman who had made her life hell. Where was her curse? Her excuse for vengeance?

 

Deep down, Ella knew that she wasn’t what she wanted. She didn’t want to hurt other people, she just wanted a chance to move on.

 

So, why was it so hard for her to accept that Drizella was too?

 

Ella got home from visiting her sisters after Lucy had gone to bed. She threw her keys up on the rack and Henry walked out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a rag, a smile on his face. She let a long sigh of relief, walking closer and kissing him. God, she had forgotten how good it felt to kiss her _husband_. Her husband, not the odd Swift driver that also happened to write her daughter’s favorite book and somehow brought so much chaos in her life. No, the man she had fallen in love with. The man that had helped save her.

 

After the realms had been united, they had decided to settle down in Storybrooke. They had bought a new home, bigger than their cottage in the Enchanted Forest. Lucy was now going to the same school her father had, with Snow as her teacher. She loved all the realms, but there was something special about this town. They had spent so long where she grew up, but now she loved getting to know where her husband had.

 

“How’s Anastasia?”

Ella’s face fell. “She’s great.”

Henry tilted his head. “You don’t look so happy about that.”

“I am, it’s just…” She trailed off, rubbing the back of her neck. “I’m thinking Anastasia should come live with us.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “Is Drizella not taking care of her?”

“She is. I’m just not sure if she should be taking care of a child right now.”

“She’s been doing it for a while. Unless Ana’s not happy.”

“She is…”

“Then what?”

“She tried to kill you, that’s what!” Henry’s mouth dropped open, but Ella kept going. “She forced your mother to cast the curse, which separated our family for two years! Under the curse, she kept going after you, knowing the truth. She…she nearly ruined everything!”

 

Henry wrapped his arms around Ella and rest his forehead against hers. She squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed, hard.

 

“Now, she just gets to walk free. Like nothing happened.”

“I know it’s hard,” Henry whispered.

“How are you okay with her still being out there?”

“Because my family is filled with people that used to be villains.”

“That’s different.”

“Is it? People gave my mom and grandfather another chance after all they did. Look at my aunt, even. The more people pushed her away and shut her out of their lives, the worse she got.”

“She deserved it, though.”

“Yes, but once she started proving that she could be better, we gave her a chance. It’s not like Drizella’s been doing bad things since Mom let her go. She’s turned her life around. You said it yourself, Anastasia is happy. She loves Drizella.”

 

Ella opened her eyes and looked into his lovable green ones.

 

“I thought after the second curse broke that staying away from my mom would be the right thing, but it only made me hurt more. Don’t do that to Anastasia.”

Ella sighed, rubbing her temples. “I’m still not sure I forgive Drizella.”

“That’s okay. You don’t have to. You just have to be willing to work with her, for Ana’s sake.”

* * *

 

Ella knocked on the door of Drizella and Anastasia’s cabin. Drizella opened it, taking a step back when she saw her sister on the other side.

 

“Ella. Anastasia’s not here, she went out with some friends.”

Ella nodded. “I’m not here to talk to her. I want to talk to you.”

“Do you want to come in…”

“No…I mean, not today.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “Regina tells me you’ve changed and maybe you have. Anastasia seems happy.”

“She really is.”

“I guess I’m just…I’m trying to forgive you and I can’t.”

Drizella frowned. “I get it. Look, I know I’m sorry isn’t going to fix everything…”

“It’d be a good start.”

She nodded. “Right. I’m sorry. I…I let Gothel get into my head. She told me that we were a family.”

“ _I_ was your family, Drizella! Me!” Tears gathered in Ella’s eyes. “We used to play together, have sleepovers in each other’s rooms. We told each other all our secrets! You comforted me after my mother went missing!”

A single tear fell down Drizella’s face. “I know,” she whispered.

“So, then…what happened?” Ella’s voice broke. “We both had crap childhoods, but only one of us cast a curse and nearly killed the other’s husband.”

“You’re a lot stronger than me, Ella. You always were. I can’t go back and change the past, but I want to make a different future for us, for all of us.”

 

Drizella turned on her heel and went into the cottage. She returned a moment later with three straw dolls in her hands. Ella bit down on her lip, remembering they had made them shortly after Cecelia and Marcus got married. They had been Anastasia’s idea, to bond all of them together.

 

“Remember when we made these?”

Ella bit her lip to suppress a smile. “Yeah. It was all Ana’s doing.”

“She brought us together once. Maybe now she can do it again.”

 

Ella looked into her sister’s eyes and let out a tiny breath.

 

“Maybe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Send me prompts for this verse!


	4. Scrapbooks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous on Tumblr prompted: For your family prompts: maybe something about Lucy wanting to know about how Regina adopt her father, how he was when he was little... (Yeah I want LightQueen (it is the right name? Iam not sure) and RegalBeliever fluff!)

There were quite a few things that made Lucy’s upbringing different than her friends that she grew up with. Because a good chunk of her family was from a modern realm, they were able to have technology that not many would have. One of those things turned out to be a camera that Snow had brought with her during one of her visits while Ella was pregnant with Lucy. She had been a shutter bug ever since Neal was born, capturing every single moment with her polaroid, wishing she could’ve done the same for Emma. She knew that in her grandson’s realm, it wasn’t that easy.

 

“You’re not going to want to miss a moment,” she had told them.

 

She was right. Ella took to the camera right away, snapping as many pictures as she could. Regina or Zelena would conjure up more film as needed and Henry made scrapbooks so they could fill them with memories.

 

The camera would end up with Ella during the curse. As Jacinda, she spent 2 years with only getting to see her daughter a couple of days a week. As a result, she took as many pictures as she could. Henry relished these once the curse broke, trying to catch up on the years he missed.

 

One afternoon, Ella and Henry were busy with work, so they asked Regina to stop by and look after Lucy. She was nearly 11 and didn’t want a babysitter, but given all that had happened, no one could blame them for being a little protective. Regina had agreed to just stop by a little after they left. Ella had told Regina in her text messages that Lucy had been looking over the scrapbooks, so Regina dug through her own collection and headed over to her son’s house in Nightingale Village.

 

Using her key to get in, she called out for her granddaughter. “Lucy?”

“In the living room, Grandma!”

Regina followed her voice and found Lucy sitting on the couch, one of the many handmade scrapbooks on her lap. She smiled and joined her. “How’d you know it was me?”

“Mom and Dad always send either you or Aunt Tiana or Alice or someone when they go out.” She rolled her eyes.

“You know they’re just worried. With all the realms united, we don’t know if there are any potential threats.”

“You’re the queen, you’d stop any of them.”

“True, but there’s nothing wrong with being cautious.” Regina looked down at the page Lucy had the book opened to. It was a picture that Tiana had taken of Ella, Henry and Lucy on the day of her christening. “Look at you, you were so tiny.”

“I can’t believe Mom made me wear that ridiculous dress.”

“It’s tradition in my family,” Regina said. “That was actually mine.”

Lucy tilted her head. “Really?”

Regina nodded. “And I made your father wear it when I christened him.”

Lucy snorted. “You didn’t!”

“I did, I have pictures.”

 

She flipped open her own scrapbook and showed her a picture snapped by Nova the day Henry was christened. Regina didn’t have any other family or friends, so she had just done it at a regular church service. She normally didn’t attend, but it had been so important to her grandfather’s culture, she wanted to pass it down.

 

“Wow, he looked silly, but he was a cute baby. Can I look at this?”

“Of course, it’s why I brought it.”

 

Lucy set down the scrapbook in her hands and took the one that Regina had brought. Much like Henry and Ella, she had tons from when he was growing up. The one she had brought in particular was one of six she had for his first year of life. Lucy flipped through it, smiling at the different pictures. She paused on one in particular when Henry was 6 months old.

 

“What’s that?” She pointed to a picture of Regina holding Henry in front of a courthouse sign in Boston. She was wearing a navy blue pantsuit and Henry was wearing a tiny suit of his own, though it had spit up on it. “I thought no one could leave Storybrooke when my dad was a kid.”

Regina smiled. “Well, I was the one who cast the curse, so of course I was the exception. And since your father wasn’t born there, he was immune as well. That was the day his adoption was finalized, I had to take him back to Boston to sign the papers.”

“Oh.” Lucy studied the picture more. “Why did you want to adopt him?”

Regina tilted her head, realizing that she and Lucy had never discussed it. Lucy had always grown up knowing her father’s story, along with knowing that her mother had also been adopted, but she didn’t know Henry’s backstory. “Well, when I cast the curse, I thought I had everything I ever wanted. I was in power, the people around me were miserable. However, I was still alone. I didn’t have anyone. I felt like I had this hole in my heart and nothing was filling it.”

 

She shut her eyes as she was brought back to that time. It felt like so long ago, yet when she discussed it, it seemed like just yesterday. Quickly, her eyes flickered back open and she brought herself back to the story.

 

“I realized that what I actually needed, was a family. I couldn’t do it on my own, so I went to your great-grandfather.”

“Rumpelstiltskin?”

“That’s right. He was still cursed at the time, but since he was very powerful, he helped me find an adoption agency. A little later, I got a call that an adoption had fell through and their was a baby boy that needed a family.”

Lucy grinned. “And that baby was my dad.”

Regina smiled, tapping her nose. “That’s right. I went down to Boston and got him, bringing him home with me. It wasn’t easy, but we soon found our rhythm.”

 

She got misty eyed as Lucy flipped to the front of the scrapbook, showing the first picture of Henry. He was just 2 weeks old at the time, a chubby, squishy newborn in a white onesie with little brown dots over it. He was squinting, not really looking at the camera. Regina felt the same tug at her heart the moment he had been placed in her arms, with the same memory of knowing one thing.

 

This was _her_ son, _her_ baby boy. Nothing would ever take him from her. And while over the years, many things had, he had always come back to her.

 

Henry would always be the person that made her feel complete.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to send me prompts for this verse! As a reminder, this verse is centered around the Mills family.


	5. Little Girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @trueloveismagic said: I’m now imagining Henry going through an adjustment period of realizing that Lucy isn’t a little girl anymore. She’s grown up so much and he missed it.

Lucy’s 11th birthday took place two months after the curse broke and it was the hardest day of Henry’s life.

 

Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration for the man that had lost his parents multiple times, been through curses and near death experiences. Still, it was up there.

 

He didn’t realize how much the time apart had changed Lucy. Sure, the curse had changed them all in varying degrees. He and Ella were a little more protective, he was battling with PTSD from both what he experienced on Lucy’s birthday and Jack kidnapping him. He knew that he had spent 2 years without his family, followed by another rough 10 months of being in their lives but knowing who they were but he didn’t think about the time much. He and Ella picked up where they left off. They were still very much in love. Neither blamed the other for any romantic relationships they may have had during the curse, they didn’t matter.

 

The reality of it was though, it had been 3 years and 3 years could change a lot.

 

The night the curse was cast, was the night of Lucy’s 8th birthday. His daughter loved playing with dolls and having tea parties. She would drag her father to all of them and he’d wear the silly hats and boas that she’d drag out. It was all the parts of being a father to a little girl that he had dreamed up when she was born.

 

When it broke, he had a pre-teen on his hands. Not that he realized it much at first.

 

There were small changes at first. Of course she was a little taller and when he had picked her up to hug her the night he got his memories back, he had thought she was a bit heavier. Still, he had pushed that out of his mind. Her face had changed a bit as well, it wasn’t quite as babyish as it had been. The way she talked was a little different too. She didn’t call him “Daddy” nearly as much anymore and used words like “chill”.

 

Then when it came to actually shopping for her birthday present, his first instinct had been a doll or maybe a tea set. He had gotten most of her toys under the curse, thinking they belonged to the daughter he lost, but the tea set hadn’t made it over. Ella had been the one to gently redirect him.

 

“She’s been asking for an iPod,” she said. “I think we should go with that.”

“We could get her the tea set, too.”

“How about a case for the iPod instead?” Ella suggested. “Look, there’s a pink one right there.”

 

Henry followed his wife’s lead, trying to remind himself that she had spent more time with her than he had over the past few years. She knew more about her likes and dislikes. So, he agreed to get the pink device with a matching case, along with some earphones to go along with it.

 

Then came the room debacle. His mother was working on a spell to blend all the realms together, but they knew that even when she did, they’d live in Storybrooke. They had adjusted to the modern conveniences under the curse and they’d be closer to their family. He and Ella had selected to buy some property in the Nightingale Village section of Storybrooke, building a house from the ground up just as they had their cottage. It meant they got to design each room from scratch and they were loving every minute of it.

 

He thought he had the perfect room for Lucy in mind, but quickly realized that outside a few favorite dolls and stuffed animals, most of her toys would be going in storage. She had even sent some out to be donated to the less fortunate children of the realms. Her room was painted magenta rather than the light pink it had been back in the cottage and she had picked out a more sophisticated bedspread. Posters of bands covered her walls and young adult novels filled her bookshelves.

 

Lucy’s style had changed too, and not just in the way that one would expect going from a fairytale realm to a modern one. She wore far less pink and dresses, drifting more towards flannel and jeans. She was even starting to wear lip gloss and mascara, nothing crazy, but it was noticeable none the less.

 

Henry didn’t have a little girl anymore, he had a pre-teen. For most parents, it happened in the blink of an eye. For him, it happened while he wasn’t even looking…because he hadn’t been there to see it.

 

A part of him knew that his grandparents would understand. After all, they had blinked and 28 years had gone by. Yet, it still wasn’t the same. They had never really known Emma. They hadn’t formed a relationship with her. Snow and David had never gotten the chance to get to know their daughter as a child, their only relationship blossomed when she was an adult. Of course that came with its own set of challenges and was all the more bittersweet, but they wouldn’t understand.

 

He found himself drifting towards the one person he knew would get it, someone that had lost more years with the child he had bonded with than Henry had.

 

The wish version of Killian had also settled in Storybrooke, just a few blocks away from Robin and Alice’s new apartment. Henry found himself going there the night before Lucy’s 11th birthday before he went home after work. Killian made them some tea and they gathered in the living room together. After Emma had convinced them to join together, they had become great friends. Sure, it was a little awkward talking to a man that looked so much like his step-father about things he’d never dream of telling the other Killian, but he was grateful for the friendship nonetheless.

 

“I thought you’d be home by now,” Killian said. “You’ve got a big party to get ready for.”

“Ella’s got most of it figured out anyway.” Henry rubbed the back of his neck. “I uh, I wanted to talk to you about something. I need your advice.”

“Advice, hm?”

“You’re the only other person who gets what I’m going through. You’re the only person who…”

 

Henry trailed off, his eyes focusing on a picture of Killian and Alice. It had been taken under the curse, once Tilly had moved in with Rogers. Killian followed his eyes to it and gave an understanding nod.

 

“Knows what it’s like to lose time with a daughter?” He offered.

“I know my story cannot begin to compare to yours,” Henry rambled on quickly. “You weren’t cursed for most of it, not in the sense where you didn’t remember her. You knew where she was and yet…” He stopped himself, not wanting to bring further pain to Killian. “Anyway, you finally can be in her life again and she’s…she’s…”

“Not a little girl anymore.”

Henry nodded, biting down on his lip. “Yeah.”

“It was hard,” Killian admitted. “I knew it was going to happen, I wasn’t a fool. I was kicked out of that tower when Alice was 11 years old. I snuck back up there as often as I could to test the waters, but after a few times I knew I was only hurting us both. I spent so long on my own, counting the years. Every birthday was bittersweet for me. I knew that it was another year we had spent apart, another year older that she’d be. Another year closer to not really needing a papa.”

 

There was a silence that fell over the two fathers for a moment. They both sat there, lost in the thoughts of their respective daughters.

 

“Anyway,” Killian said, clearing his throat and blinking a few times. “When I finally found her again, she was all grown up. Not long after, she had fallen in love. By the time the curse broke, she and Robin were so close, they were getting engaged. It was…hard. I knew it was possible, that by the time I could hold her in my arms again, that she would’ve found love. Still, to not be the only person in her life, to know that our relationship was changing…I struggled.”

“How did you get past it?”

Killian softly smiled. “I realized that just because she was grown up, it didn’t mean that she didn’t need me. Our relationship had changed, but that was good. It’s the way a parent’s with a child should. We’re still close and we can still talk about things. Just because she’s a woman, doesn’t mean that she’s not my little girl anymore.”

 

Henry chewed further on his lip, feeling a bump slowly rising. Killian reached over and placed a hand on his arm.

 

“Lucy’s still your little girl. You’ve got plenty of more years with her, to be her father.”

“I just wasn’t ready for any of this.”

“Is any parent? I remember when Alice was growing up, slowly transitioning from little girl to young woman, I was beside myself. I worried she wouldn’t need me, but it turned out that she needed me even more then. These are the hard years, Henry. Think about it. Puberty, friends…eventually maybe a boyfriend or girlfriend…”

“Over my dead body,” Henry mumbled.

Killian chuckled. “Oh, I felt the same way. But don’t you see? Your time as a dad isn’t over. Even when she turns 18, she’s still going to need you.”

Henry let out a deep breath. “Thanks, Killian.”

“Anytime. Like you said, we are really the only two that understand each other when it comes to this.”

 

Suddenly, Killian’s phone buzzed and he read it, a smile forming on his lips.

 

“Speaking of daughters, Alice accidentally broke her medicine cabinet. She needs me to come over and fix it.”

“I’ll let you go.” Henry stood up and clasped a hand on his shoulder. “Go be there for your daughter.”

 

Henry headed home and made his way up to Lucy’s bedroom. His daughter was fast asleep, curled up in bed with her favorite teddy bear under her arms. He walked in further and pushed back some of her hair, kissing her forehead.

 

“I love you, Luce,” he whispered. “More than you’ll ever know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to send me prompts for this verse!


	6. Breathe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trueloveismagic prompted: Glass Believer "Look at me, okay? Everything is fine, just breathe, in and out. In and out." I was disappointed (and unsurpised) that we didn't get to see Henry deal with what Jack did to him, so I thought Ella helping him through it would be a good arc.
> 
> Trigger warnings: PTSD, panic attacks and mentions of burning in this fic.

Henry considered himself lucky a lot of the time. After Neverland, there was a good chance he would’ve suffered from PTSD. Yet, in a twisted turn of events, his memories had been erased. Even when he could remember everything that happened, his brain was clouded with what wasn’t real and what was. He was able to move on, he found happiness.

 

He wasn’t that lucky when it came to Jack.

 

His life was busy after he escaped and for a minute, he wondered if maybe he was just someone who could easily bounce back.

 

And then the nightmares started. He’d find himself tied to a pole while his entire world crashed around him. Zelena was murdered, Regina was being tortured and Ella was convinced that he was dead. He couldn’t move as he watched his wife and daughter mourn his death. It played over and over, his wrists burning from the rope and his mouth blistering beneath the tape.

 

“You can’t save anyone,” Jack would whisper into his ear before punching him in the face. “You wouldn’t believe me, your mother could’ve died, your aunt too. What would that have done to your cousin? You’re the truest believer, Henry. Why didn’t you just believe?”

 

Henry shoot up in bed, his heart racing, his breathing uneven. Every night, he’d find himself sitting on the floor of the bathroom, his head leaning against the cool marble on the tub.

 

_You’re the truest believer. Why didn’t you just believe?_

 

It was his fault that the curse had been cast. If he hadn’t been so stupid, if he had found a way to defeat the coven. It was his fault that Zelena had been put in danger, that all of those other witches were killed too. He hadn’t been able to stop Jack. He hadn’t been able to stop anything.

 

What if Lucy had died because of Rapunzel’s curse? What if he had lost his little girl because he was too stubborn to see what was right in front of him?

 

Every night, he tried to fight sleep. He spent his time working on his new novel and ordering new things for their home. He’d go out and assist his grandfather with last minute things on his farm. He bought everything for Lucy that he could possibly think of.

 

Eventually, though, his eyes would grow too heavy and he’d find himself dead asleep beside Ella.

 

One night in particular, he found himself tied to the same pole. This time, however, there were only 3 other people in the apartment. His aunt and mother were tied to poles opposite him and he yanked on the rope to free himself, but he couldn’t. Jack walked out of the bathroom, a lighter in hand.

 

“We know witches melt,” he whispered harshly. “Let’s see if they _burn_.”

 

Henry struggled even more, but it was too late. Regina and Zelena were engulfed in the flames. No matter how hard Henry screamed and tried to look away, he couldn’t. All he could see were the burning bodies and Jack’s sick, sadistic smile.

 

“Welcome to my hell.”

 

Henry shot up in bed, breathing heavily. This time, however, he couldn’t move. He looked around the dark bedroom, but felt frozen in place. For a moment, he feared that it hadn’t been a dream. Jack was alive, he was really torturing him. His breath grew heavier and soon he was having a panic attack.

 

“Henry!”

 

He fumbled and suddenly saw his wife sitting beside him, looking worried. He quickly sat up and tried to speak, but he couldn’t, all he could do was hyperventilate. Ella slowly rubbed his back, her voice soft and soothing.

 

“Look at me, okay? Everything is fine, just breathe, in and out. In and out.”

“I…I couldn’t save them,” he choked out. “They’re dead, it’s my fault!”

“Who’s dead, Henry? Look at me.” She gripped his chin in her hands and forced him to look at her. “Talk to me, who’s dead.”

“Zelena…M…Mom.”

“They’re not dead, sweetheart. We just saw your mom tonight, she’s safe. So is Zelena. She’s been helping plan Robin and Alice’s wedding, so she’s a tad crazy, but she’s okay. Just breathe for me, okay? In and out.”

 

It was shaky at first, but Henry slowly began to breathe. Soon, his breaths evened out. His chin stayed in Ella’s gentle grip and she looked at him with all the love in the world. Once he could breathe again, he felt the tears spring to his eyes.

 

“It’s my fault,” he whispered. “All of it. Mom had to cast the curse to save me. Jack could’ve killed Zelena…”

“But he didn’t. It’s not your fault, Henry. None of it. Jack, Drizella and Gothel all made their own choices, there’s nothing you could’ve done.”

The tears felt hot as they fell down his cheeks. “They could’ve died. Mom, Zelena….”

“But they didn’t, they’re okay. You’re okay.”

He shook his head. “No, I’m not. I’m not okay.”

“Oh, Henry.”

 

Ella pulled him into her arms and kissed his temple. He let himself melt into her, letting out another shaky breath.

 

“Then we’ll get you some help. According to Regina, Archie’s been busy with weddings but maybe it’s time he resumed his therapy practice.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to leave prompts for this verse.


	7. Moments

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trueloveismagic prompted: Glass Believer "I won't let you go through something like that again." Protective sentence starters :)
> 
> Trigger warning: mentions of past infertility and miscarriages. Aka, I fix “Small Bump”.

Two pink lines.

 

Ella felt as if she was going to pass out. She didn’t think this was possible. A long time ago she had accepted that Lucy would be her only child. She was fine with that, she didn’t want to go through another pregnancy. Sure, she and Henry had been a little relaxed with the birth control, but she never expected it to happen.

 

Yet, a few months after Lucy’s 11th birthday, around 7 years since her last miscarriage, and she was pregnant. Ella had been feeling a bit off and was late, but she chalked it up to the stress of the realms uniting. She was still getting used to seeing Drizella around and finding that she was becoming a better person. It wasn’t until Tiana jokingly asked if she was after she couldn’t stand to be around the raw chicken being cooked.

 

Ella took one to calm her nerves, only to make herself even more racked with them. They doubled when she went to the gynecologist’s office and found out that she was expecting twins.

 

She spent most of the pregnancy waiting for something bad to happen. She didn’t tell Henry for at least a week and they didn’t tell anyone else until they were well into their second trimester. Lucy was so excited to become a big sister, while Regina and Emma were over the moon about becoming grandparents again.

 

Once she past the date of her first miscarriage, Ella allowed herself to finally relax a bit. Henry held her hand through every sonogram and stayed up with her when she was too afraid to fall asleep.

 

One week before her due date, Ella gave birth to healthy twins. They named the boy, Matias Baelfire and the girl, Xiomara Belle. The couple fell head over heels instantly, as did the rest of their family. Henry only wished that his grandfather was still alive to see the namesakes of his two true loves. He had a feeling, however, that they were all watching over them from a better place.

 

Their lives were crazy yet again, dealing with their restaurant and three kids, two of which were newborns. Henry was doing his best to help, but he found that Ella took over at any chance she could. That wasn’t like her at all. They had taken turns with Lucy when it came to pretty much everything. Sure, it had been 11 years since he last had to tend to a baby, but he was more than willing. As an author, he would be the one home with them most of the time anyway.

 

Two weeks after the babies came home, Henry headed into their nursery and found Ella feeding them. He dropped down onto the ottoman of the rocking chair, softly smiling at them.

 

“They should be good to go to sleep after this,” Ella told him.

Henry nodded. “For a couple of hours at least. I was thinking, maybe you could get some sleep and I’d take care of them tonight.”

“I’ve got them.”

“El, you’ve been clinging to them ever since we brought them home from the hospital.”

“Well, they need to eat.”

“Not twenty four seven.” He put a hand on her arm. “Come on, babe. What’s going on?”

 

Ella didn’t say anything at first. She gently moved Matias away and adjusted him so he could burp. She kept her eyes on him and Xiomara, a faint smile on her lips. Henry reached over to stroke his youngest daughter’s forehead, she looked so much like her big sister once had.

 

“I’m scared,” Ella whispered.

Henry tilted his head. “Scared of what?”

“I lost Lucy. I mean, not entirely, I know you were separated from her…”

“But you were too, you only had her two days a week.” Henry rubbed his thumb over Ella’s knuckles. “That wasn’t easy.”

“I know that Drizella’s doing better and Gothel’s dead…but it doesn’t mean that something still couldn’t take them from us. We don’t know everyone in these realms, villains are still out there. I can’t lose them, not like I did Lucy.”

Henry nodded. “I get that. You know, when my grandma had Neal, she was the same way. She didn’t let Gramps hold him, she was so protective. It didn’t help anything, though. You can’t live in fear. If there’s one thing Gramps taught me is that you can’t go looking for the next fight. You have to live for the moments.”

“The moments?”

“Yes, the moments. There’s good ones that outweigh the bad.”

“But…”

“I won't let you go through something like that again.”

“You can’t stop that.”

“Just let someone try to take our kids away from us again, it’s not going to happen. I promise you, El. Nothing’s going to get in our way this time.”

 

Ella stared deeply into his eyes for a moment, before gently kissing him. Xiomara had finished up eating and Ella was about to adjust her, when she paused.

 

“Could you burp her for me?”

Henry smiled. “I’d love to.”

 

That night, Ella still didn’t get much sleep. She tended to Matias, while Henry handled Xiomara. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to send me prompts for this verse. :)


	8. Daddy/Daughter Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompted by ellamills2003: “I promised your mom to make sure you didn’t do anything stupid tonight.” —GlassBeliever

Ella lingered in the doorway, taking in her husband and daughter. “Are you sure you two are going to be okay?”

“We’ll be fine,” Henry assured her as he adjusted Lucy on his hip to start work on dinner.

“She’s just been so much more active lately.”

“And I’ve got a handle on her.” Henry bounced the 13 month old a bit. “You go, have your fun with Tiana.”

 

Ella smiled, pushing back some of Lucy’s thick dark hair. Lucy looked up at her mother and waved.

 

“Mama,” she babbled.

“Mama’s gonna go see Auntie Tiana,” Henry explained. “They’re going to have some adult beverages and gossip about Daddy and all the men in the kingdom.”

Ella snorted. “Not entirely true. We’ll also talk about the women.”

“True.” He pecked her lips. “Have fun.”

“You too. I won’t be too late.”

“As long as you like.”

 

After a few more kisses and cuddles with her daughter, Ella walked out the door. Henry smiled down at his daughter as he stirred the pot on the stove.

 

“I thought she’d never leave. What should we do after dinner, hmm, my little princess?” Henry cooed, tickling her cheek. Lucy giggled and reached up, grabbing hold of his hair and tugging. “Now, now, that’s not very nice.” He wormed her grip away and saw she was about to cry, so he instantly put a rattle into her hands. It had once belonged to his mother, who had passed it down to Robin. She had gifted it to Henry and Ella when they welcomed Lucy. It was nice to keep it in the family.

 

Once the two of them had enjoyed some dinner, Henry brought his daughter into the living room. He settled her onto the ground and she instantly got onto all fours, ready to crawl. Henry bounced into action to make a makeshift playpen out of some pillows.

 

“I promised your mom to make sure you didn’t do anything stupid tonight,” he said, only half-jokingly. Ever since she became mobile, she was constantly getting into everything.

 

They spent most of the night playing with her toys and Henry telling her some stories. He loved moments when it was just the two of them. Lucy loved both of her parents, but it was clear that she was a daddy’s girl. She hung on his every word and thrust things into his hands so he would play with her. He spun her around in the air and built towers for her with her blocks. If she ever got fussy, he got her a teether or cuddled her a bit.

 

After the sun set, he brought her to the tub to give her a bath. Lucy kicked her legs a bit and tried to get out, but he kept a firm but gentle grip on her. Regina said that he also hated baths when he was a baby, especially when it came time to wash his hair. Luckily, he could skip that, that night.

 

Once she was nice and clean, he got her in a fresh diaper and brought her through to the nursery. He settled her on the ground and started searching for some warm pajamas for that particularly cold evening. He selected pink ones that had little swans on them (a gift from Emma) and turned back around, only to find her gone. Panic set in and he started looking all around the room.

 

Suddenly, he spotted her holding herself up on her rocking horse. He held his breath, not saying anything at first. Lucy had been pulling herself up for a few weeks, yet never took steps unassisted. Regina and Eudora had both assured them not to rush her, she’d do it in her own time. The more they spent forcing it, the longer it would take.

 

Lucy took one chubby hand off the rocking horse, followed by the other. Henry slowly nodded, a smile slowly forming on his face. Lucy took one step forward, then another. Henry quickly bridged the gap and dropped down on his knees, holding his arms out.

 

“That’s it, Luce! Come to Daddy!”

 

She grinned at the praise and clapped her hands, which caused her to wobble a bit, but she caught herself on the horse. After straightening herself out a bit, she let go and tried again. She took a step, then another. Soon, she tumbled right into her father’s arms. He thrusted her up in the air, spinning her around.

 

“Yes! Look at you! You’re such a big girl now, aren’t you?” He blew a raspberry into her tummy and she giggled. “I can’t wait to show your mommy, she’ll be so excited.”

Lucy clapped her hands. “Yay!”

“That’s right, yay.” He nuzzled his cheek against hers, letting out a content sigh.


	9. Street Rats

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, @trueloveismagic and I have discussed Glass Believer adopting, which I feel they would at some point. This is how their family of 5, grew to 6 in a very short period of time. Takes place when Lucy is 15 and the twins are 3 1/2.

Ella blew a loose strand of hair out of her eye and looked around the kitchen. A lull at last. She loved her restaurant and wouldn’t change a thing about it, but sometimes it could be just a tad overwhelming.

 

Once they moved to Storybrooke, Tiana had been torn between her past life and her cursed one. She had loved being queen, but she had also loved running the food truck. With her wealth in her hands once again, she could afford to open her own restaurant, but then who would take over the kingdom? After lots of talks with Ella and Naveen, she decided that she could have both. She would rule over her kingdom while also owning The Bayou, along with it’s food truck counterpart. However, the business would be co-owned by Ella and Alice, so Tiana could trust that her business was well taken care of.

 

Alice had loved working on the food truck, so she had taken over there with the help of Robin. Ella had gotten the restaurant and she employed an amazing staff to help her. Still, she found herself doing most of the cooking. Many of the recipes were either hers or Tiana’s, or passed down to them from family members over the years. She found it hard to trust anyone else.

 

However, all the meals were out and they weren’t expecting more people for a while, so Ella made her way out into the dining room. It was like stepping into New Orleans, with lights strung everywhere and a beautiful mural that Alice had painted of the bayou.

 

She went around the restaurant, checking on everyone and getting pulled into a conversation with David and Snow. Just as she was walking away from them, however, she caught something out of the corner of her eye at the takeout counter. A young boy, who only looked to be a bit younger than Lucy, was going through the different containers and removing food. He stuffed them into his sweatshirt pockets and kept looking around to see if anyone was watching.

 

Ella walked up behind him and cleared her throat, causing him to drop the piece of cornbread that was in his hand. “Don’t you think you’d enjoy it more if you sat down?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Really?” She held up one of the plastic containers. “Because this doesn’t look like all of our fried green tomato special.”

The boy rolled his eyes. “I didn’t steal anything.”

“Right. Empty your pockets.”

“You’re not the police.”

“No, but my mother-in-law is, so I suggest you do it before I call her.” She wouldn’t dream of calling Emma, but she wanted to call this kid on his bluff.

“I didn’t do anything. Geez, just leave me alone.”

 

He headed towards the exit and Ella followed after him.

 

“What’s your name, kid? I’m going to call your parents.”

The boy stopped by the door and then turned around for a moment. “Flynn,” he said and for a moment, the sarcasm and wit left his eyes. “And I don’t got any parents, lady.”

 

With that, he was gone.

* * *

 

Henry did some digging after Ella texted him about the thief. His first stop was the group home that rested between the lines of Storybrooke and the Enchanted Forest. Unfortunately, even with all the realms united, not every child had a home. Regina arranged for there to be countless meeting days between prospective parents and children, but it always seemed that the older ones got left behind.

 

Sure enough, Flynn Oliver was one of the children there. At 12-years-old, he had spent most of his life in care. His parents were villagers from Arendelle who took off when he was young. He had always been rebellious, but after the reuniting of the realms, he had even more reason to take off and cause trouble. The leader offered to look for him, but Henry said he’d find him.

 

He had heard stories from his parents and grandma, all of whom had spent some time as street kids. They had always told him that sometimes you just looked for a safe place to hide, somewhere that had shelter and warmth.

 

Alice’s old boxcar came to mind. When Regina had united the realms, somehow Hyperion Heights was apart of that and joined them. It was easy for everyone to grab their old things and bring them into their new life. Alice had no use for the boxcar, obviously, so it had been abandoned for quite some time.

 

Henry made his way over there, zipping up his jacket along the way. He pushed open the door and found the boy that Ella had described on the other side. Henry could tell that Flynn tried to look tough, but he saw straight past that. He was 12-years-old, only a few years younger than Lucy. Henry cringed at the thought of his daughter being in this position. She almost would’ve been, had Gothel won.

 

“Go away, Henry,” Flynn said.

Henry arched an eyebrow. “You know me?”

“Everyone knows you. Son of the Good Queen and the Savior, husband of Cinderella.”

“She actually prefers, Ella, ya know?”

Flynn rolled his eyes. “I only steal when I have to.”

“Oh, I get that.” Henry sat down on the old air mattress that was losing its air.

“How would you even begin to understand my life? You grew up as the queen’s kid.”

“Maybe so, but my other mom didn’t always have the best life and neither did my dad or grandma. They were street kids for a while. Had to steal to survive, sleep where they could.” Henry tilted his head. “Though, you have a place to go.”

“That group home?” Flynn snorted and rolled his eyes again. “I’m not going back there. It’s gotten a bit better since we merged with Storybrooke, but not by much. No one gives a shit about you there.”

Henry nodded. “So…here’s better?”

“I’m on my own. Got no one to tell me how to live my life or when to go to bed.”

“Has to be pretty cold out,” Henry countered. “Almost winter in Maine and all you’ve got is a sweatshirt and no heat in this boxcar.”

Flynn frowned and folded his arms over his chest. “Not all of us can have the life you do.”

“Maybe you could. Go back to the group home and one day, you’ll have a family of your own.”

“Right. I seem to remember the stories of Emma Swan being an orphan her entire life.”

“Until she came here.”

“Well, I’m not interested in waiting another 16 years.”

 

Henry looked at the boy and could see the pain in his eyes. He was stealing to survive and would rather live in a dingey boxcar, then a group home with heat. As much as his moms did their best to make sure those places were well run, he knew there was only so much they could do. He thought of his own children and all they had. He and Ella worked hard to give them the world, so they never knew how Emma, Neal and Snow once had. They also made sure to show them the love that Regina never received.

 

Flynn didn’t have any of that, but maybe he could.

* * *

 

Ella set the table with the help of Lucy that night. The twins were nearby, playing with trains and making dramatic noises as they crashed into each other. She couldn’t help but laugh and shake her head. They were creative, just like their father.

 

The door opened and Henry soon appeared in the dining room…with Flynn next to him, a backpack slung over his shoulder. Lucy tilted her head.

 

“Who’s that?”

“This is Flynn,” Henry explained. “He’s going to be staying with us for a while.”

 

 He looked over at his wife with pleading eyes and she knew she should be upset with him, bringing home a kid like a stray puppy and at the same time…she knew that she couldn’t. This was her husband, this was the man she fell in love with. He looked out for the underdog, always. So, she simply smiled and turned to her eldest daughter.

 

“Luce, set another place for our friend here.” She looked back over at Flynn. “I think I know you appreciate my cooking.”

Flynn slowly smirked. “Yeah…it’s alright.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to send me prompts for this verse. :)


	10. The Fox & The Girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> loboselinaistrash prompted: "So I was driving past a pet store and couldn’t help but wonder how cute an animal would be like in our home."
> 
> Based on @trueloveismagic‘s headcanon about Lucy’s first pet.

Lucy wandered through the woods, knowing that she wasn’t really alone. Despite her parents saying that they trusted her, she knew that Robin would be in a tree nearby, with arrows just in case anything happened. She was 7-years-old, not stupid. It wasn’t worth the argument, though, so she tied her cloak tighter around her and skipped through the woods. She picked some wildflowers along the way and found some random items for her collection. She had a box filled with pebbles, leaves and other things from nature. She wasn’t sure why she liked collecting them, but it brought her some peace.

 

As she was putting a particularly funny shaped rock into her satchel, she heard some rustling in the bushes. She paused for a second and the only sounds she could hear was Robin’s heavy breathing up in the tree above. Lucy took a step forward and suddenly, a tiny fox pushed its way out of the bush. She knelt down and held out her hand as she had been taught to. The fox trotted closer and then pounced towards her. Lucy let out a yelp, until she realized it was just cuddling up on her lap.

 

“Well hey there,” she whispered. “What are you doing out here on your own?” Her mother had taught her a lot about animals and she knew that a fox this young wouldn’t be away from its parents. She looked around in the surrounding area, but could find no sign of any parents. “Well…maybe you could come home with me.”

 

She set the fox down and he followed behind her back to the cottage. She walked inside and found her parents bopping around the kitchen, fixing dinner.

 

“Hey Luce,” her mother called out. “Go wash up for dinner.”

“Okay. Can we give the scraps to my new friend?”

 

Henry and Ella turned around, finding the fox in front of their daughter. They looked from it, back up to their daughter.

 

“Lucy,” Henry said, taking a step forward. “Where did this fox come from.”

Lucy rolled her eyes. “So I was driving past a pet store and couldn’t help but wonder how cute an animal would be like in our home.”

“Okay, smart one. Where’d you really get it?”

“I was in the woods and I found him. I couldn’t find any parents, so I figured….he could come live with us?”

 

Henry took a closer look at the fox and let out a tiny sigh.

 

“I think I know why he doesn’t have any parents. Widow Tweed had taken in an orphaned fox right before she died. So, he’s probably domesticated.”

Ella shut her eyes. “So, we have to take him in, is what we’re saying?”

“We could try to find him another home. Maybe Zelena and Robin could take him on their farm….

“Please Mommy,” Lucy interrupted, looking at her mom with a pout. “Pretty please.”

 

Ella opened her eyes and looked into her daughter’s. She was normally the stern parent, those puppy dog eyes didn’t work on her. Yet, in that moment, she couldn’t say no.

 

She sighed, shaking her head. “Alright, fine,” she told her. Lucy squealed and threw her arms around her mom. “But you are taking care of him.”

“Of course! Of course!”

Ella sighed. “So, what are we going to name him?”

“You know, in my world, his story is from The Fox and the Hound,” Henry said. “The fox’s name was Tod.”

“That’ll be his name then,” Lucy decided, picking her new pet up and giving him a kiss.


End file.
